49th State Hardball, this website, is a fan-written blog about the Alaska Baseball League (ABL). The Alaska League is the original collegiate summer baseball league and still, decades after its founding, one of the most talented. Hundreds of ABL players have gone on to Major League Baseball, and there are over 200 additional Alaska Leaguers in the professional minor leagues today, hoping to follow in the footsteps of those who have come before them. Chances are good that some of your favorite professional players have played in Alaska.
The purpose of 49th State Hardball is to promote the Alaska League to baseball fans in Alaska and around the world, provide a resource for fans of the ABL and baseball in general to learn about and discuss their favorite ABL teams and players (past, present and future), and to promote the great game of baseball. We offer resources such as photos, news, scouting reports, and rankings, and use our contacts within the teams that make up the league to bring you accurate and interesting stories year-round.
I'm jjack, otherwise known as Jesse. I am the main writer and operator of this blog. I've loved baseball my whole life. I grew up in a small island town in southeast Alaska, watching the Braves on TBS and playing ball all the way from tee-ball to high school. I also had the privilege to coach youth baseball in Palmer Little League, which was a very rewarding experience, after I relocated to the Anchorage area in 2003.
These I spend most of the year in Butte, Montana where I study engineering at Montana Tech. However, every summer my family and I return to Alaska to work and, of course, enjoy baseball. I am very proud to be an Alaskan and I love to share the unique and wonderful aspects of the state with those I meet, and that includes our top-notch baseball league. I also enjoy writing and have always been handy with computers. One day I decided to combine several of my passions and, naturally, this blog was the outcome. I hope that you enjoy reading it and that my writing reflects well on the ABL and baseball as a whole.
